Mitch McConnell is About to Set a Senate Record

To do so, he’ll have to surpass the previous record set by now-retired Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS).

By NTK Staff | 05.31.2018 @1:00pm

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), as Republicans’ Senate leader, is on his third president. He’s entered year 11 of his tenure as top Republican in the Senate, and in two weeks, he’ll hold the record for longest tenure in that position in Senate history.

On June 12, McConnell will surpass the 11-plus-year run of former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas to become the longest-serving Republican Senate leader ever. It’s a remarkable feat given the turmoil in the Republican Party since Trump’s takeover: The House GOP will soon be on its third party leader in little more than three years, while the lower rungs of Senate leadership are about to experience significant turnover. McConnell is on his third president as Republican leader.

Yet the 76-year-old Kentuckian is showing no signs of fading away as he steers a 51-seat majority (minus, for now, John McCain) past Dole’s mark. McConnell is serious about running for reelection in 2020, and his colleagues and allies say he’s intent on running for GOP leader again next Congress, regardless of whether Republicans hold the Senate or not.

According to Politico, McConnell is expected to face little to no opposition at all “when he pursues years 13 and 14 as GOP leader.” That includes any potential challenge from Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who holds the number-two spot in the conference.

His top lieutenant, John Cornyn of Texas, is waiting in the wings to succeed McConnell, but the famously mum GOP leader has given his party whip “no timeline” on when exactly that might happen — and Cornyn won’t challenge him in the interim.

“The call’s going to be up to him,” Cornyn said. “But one of the things that motivates me to run for reelection is the possibility that I’ll have that chance.”

Even his Democrat counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), had nothing but compliments for McConnell’s tenure. “There’s a reason Mitch is the longest-serving Republican leader: He understands and well-represents his caucus,” he told Politico. “He knows how to fight, and he knows how to cooperate.”